“You actually want me to dump him. To hurt him.” I was dumbfounded. “I won’t do that to him, Carter. I love him, we’ve made promises to each other. No.”
“God, Zoey. It’s not forever, it’s just until he can get his priorities in order. Think of it like a hall pass. We need him to at least follow through on this tour. Everyone is concerned—”
“What do you mean, everyone?” I was mortified.
“The guys in the band think he’s too into you. They like you, don’t get me wrong. But they are worried that Ty is too dependent on you. If he quits the band, he will have nothing else to fall back on. At least you have college and a future. Without the band, Ty will be fucked, because this is a once-in-a-lifetime shot,” Carter implored.
“So, what you’re saying is that I need to do it for Ty.” My entire body felt like it was seizing in agony. “This is such bullshit. He trusts me. He trusts you. What you’re asking me to do is horrible.”
“I’m just saying give him the freedom to live the dream he’s had for six years before he met you a couple of months ago. It’s all he’s been working toward since I’ve known him, and I don’t want him to throw it away.” Carter sighed. “Or don’t. I want him to have his shot, get financially stable, and be able to make real choices. I also want to the best for my son, Connor, and Jace. I hoped you would feel the same way.”
“You underestimate him.” I pointed at him, shaking with sorrow. “He would never give up the band or this shot for me.”
“You’re wrong.” He shrugged. “But even if you aren’t, when you’re thousands of miles away from him at school will you be able to handle seeing social media posts with him and beautiful women who will hang all over him? Kissing and mauling him, asking for autographs, flashing their tits? Will you still trust him unconditionally? Oh, I bet you’ll love what the internet trolls who see your picture with Ty have to say. They’ll pick you apart hair by hair. Don’t forget about the groupies who will do and say anything to get into Ty’s pants. He’s twenty-one years old, for Christ’s sake, you can’t expect him to not to fuck up at some point.”
I was crying harder now, unable to speak through my sobs.
Gently, Carter put his hand on my shoulder, “Zoey, you’re a beautiful, smart, and a truly awesome young woman. The kind of girl everyone wishes was their first love. God knows I’m not the guy to give advice. Just think about what I’ve said. You know the old saying, ‘If you love something set it free.’”
“If I did this, Carter, I couldn’t ever face him, you, or the band again. It would break his heart. We’ve made promises. He’s confided in me.” My heart felt like someone was squeezing it with their fist. “I don’t know how I’d live with myself if I hurt him that way.”
How I’d live without him.
“Zoey.” His voice softened, and he tried to comfort me by squeezing my shoulder, “Ty and I are a lot alike—if we didn’t have music, we’d have nothing. We came from nothing, unlike you. He won’t be a good man, a whole man, unless he makes something of himself on his own. Something he can feel proud of. Don’t misunderstand me, I sincerely believe that if you are meant to be, you will find your way back to each other someday. I really do.”
Before I could reply, Ty and the guys came out the side door of the studio. He saw my tear-streaked face and rushed over, pulling me to him. “Butterfly, what’s the matter?”
“Nothing. I asked Carter for some advice of how to handle you being on the road for so long, and I’m just a big baby,” I tried to reassure him, pasting on a fake smile and wiping my eyes quickly.
“Think about what I said, if it resonates, it resonates.” Carter squinted at me briefly before dashing away to catch up to Zane, Connor, and Jace.
“What did he say, babe? Why are you crying?” Ty used his thumbs to wipe my tears.
“He just said that us being apart would be hard, and gave me some tips for getting through it, no big deal.” I covered my despair with lies.
Unfortunately, Carter’s words were on nonstop loop in my head for days. I was so confused. On one hand, I could see why he believed Ty should be free. It made logical sense if we were characters in a romance novel, but we were real people with real feelings. My heart knew what it knew—that there would be no one else but Ty for me. But was I too young? Carter had a fair point about college, there was so much of life that I hadn’t experienced. Was I being selfish in holding on to Ty? I could never live with myself if I stood in his way.
I stuffed all these feelings down while in front of Ty because I didn’t want him to worry or know that there was something wrong. I decided that it would be a game-day decision, and concentrated on making Ty’s birthday, our last day before tour and college, special. Together, we saved up enough money for us to rent a pretty nice hotel room and have a fancy dinner at a downtown steakhouse.
I dressed up in a stretchy, low-cut, black-lace dress that hit just above my knees with knock-me-down-and-fuck-me black heels that crisscrossed on my ankles. I curled my hair and fluffed it and, using a YouTube tutorial, created a smoky, rocker-chick makeup look. I didn’t wear panties. Ty looked scrumptious in dark-black moto jeans and a
